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Poopie color? Consistency?

OK, I need some guidance here. My 7 week old has had terrible gas and extreme fussiness when passing stools since he came home from the hospital. At first, I thought it was foremilk/hindmilk imbalance because his stools were green/mucousy and he has a hard time keeping up when my milk lets down. I started block feeding and have noticed his poopie is more yellow in color now.

I also started an elimination diet because I thought milk that I drink (love it!) might be a problem for him (perhaps another reason for the green/mucousy stools). I haven't had milk for about a week now, but we still have fussiness with gas and passing stools (although it seems to be better).

Well, now we just had the biggest, slimiest/watery diaper I've ever seen. I am surprised the diaper contained it. It was the color of honey mustard but so watery I had to be careful so it wouldn't run out of the diaper as I changed him. (Also, a little seedy, but not much.) What causes poopie to be like this?

Re: Poopie color? Consistency?

When it comes to poop color, it's important to focus on the overall pattern rather than on a single weird stool. If your baby's poops are generally yellow and seedy, with the odd watery or greenish exception, then everything's fine. If they are generally greenish and watery, then you may need to troubleshoot. Also, as your baby gets older you can expect the seediness to generally decline, and the stool to become more homogenous in character. And then when he starts solids, all bets are off. You may see every consistency and every color of the rainbow.

Re: Poopie color? Consistency?

Thanks for your reply! I guess I'm just worried because I feel like something I am eating is causing my son to have distress. He seems to have such difficulty passing gas or stools, and I know breastfed babies are rarely discreet about letting gas go...but every time he has a loud fart or explosive diaper someone invariably chastises, "What are you eating?" Most times I can take comments like that with a grain of salt, but since my DS has such a hard time with this I feel horrible. Plus, since I am trying the elimination diet, I feel like I am grasping at straws to get his intolerance (if it is one) under control. I go back to work in two weeks, and almost all of the milk I have pumped and stored is "tainted" with cow's milk. I am pumping as much as I can to get some more supply built up, but am afraid that some other offender is causing trouble and all the milk I am pumping now is "tainted" with that as well (like maybe wheat, perhaps?).

I just wish I knew whether his distress was a dietary problem on my part or a "issue" of his that we need to work through. We go to the doctor for our check up next week, but I'm already anticipating the "let's start some formula" discussion.

I know breastmilk is best, but I am frustrated and feel like I'm fighting a losing battle.

Re: Poopie color? Consistency?

I think one of the hardest things for a mom- especially a nursing mom- to do is to free herself of the feeling that everything her baby does is a result of something she did or failed to do, ate or failed to eat. Especially if the people around her can't hold themselves back from making little digs like "Oh, what did you eat?" every time the baby toots. And even more so if the mom is on a tight maternity leave schedule and feels pressured to get everything running 100% smoothly before she goes back to work.

I suggest taking those feelings of guilt and responsibility and need for control and just... Letting them go. If your milk has a little dairy protein in it, so be it. Lots of moms have nursed through dairy or other intolerances, and most either find that they eventually manage to eliminate the allergen or that the baby's system matures and becomes better able to handle it. And as far as pooping and farting... Well, young babies often have trouble with using their digestive systems, and find the whole thing very upsetting. But that changes with time, too!